Brewing Master

Question:

I love Wit beers!! I brewed my first wit (also my first all-grain wit) a few weeks ago. Have to bottle it soon. I’m going to try the raw wheat next time, last time i used malted. I like the roasted wheat idea. I hear that some homebrew suppliers used to have roasted malted wheat for making dunkelweizens but there wasnt enough demand. Thanks for the info! John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Since my Wit dalliance, I have been regularly adding up to half a pound of (crushed) raw wheat to most beers, as there is a favorable effect on body (much fuller), flavor (some wheat beer polyphenols) and head retention (wheat proteins).  I find the effect of raw wheat to be much more "wheaty" than malted wheat. If you roast raw wheat until it’s just starting to blacken, it’s also a great addition to stouts.  The bonus here is that since it comes without a  husk, the burnt flavor is more mellow than with roast barley.

Response:

chris, i love wits any chance you would share your recipe?? i have an extract recipe that i have brewed and am going to try it now that i am all-graining. thenks jerry

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Raw wheat has its place in brewing and I’m starting to use quite a lot of it. I’m not sure of this, but I have the impression that wheat doesn’t need cooking to release the starch (unlike corn for example).  I could be wrong.  In any case, the Belgians seem to use it to good effect when raw and I always get good conversion in the mash. I made a Wit a few months ago using 50% malted barley and 50% raw unmalted wheat.  Use a barley with high diastatic power because the unmalted wheat has none.   The result was beautiful, like a spicy wheat beer on steroids, slightly cloudy (to style) and quite yellow.  Alas, the keg gave out last night – I must brew more! (And why is the last pint always the tastiest ?)  Sidebar:  Wit also contains spices and orange peel.  Not everyone’s idea of beer, but something to expand your horizons with. Since my Wit dalliance, I have been regularly adding up to half a pound of (crushed) raw wheat to most beers, as there is a favorable effect on body (much fuller), flavor (some wheat beer polyphenols) and head retention (wheat proteins).  I find the effect of raw wheat to be much more "wheaty" than malted wheat. If you roast raw wheat until it’s just starting to blacken, it’s also a great addition to stouts.  The bonus here is that since it comes without a husk, the burnt flavor is more mellow than with roast barley. One caution – since it doesn’t come with a husk (it’s usually "pearled" before bagging),  it’s likely to contribute to slower lautering and you will more easily get a stuck sparge.  Add oat husks to the mash if you have them. Experiment with it.  Have fun. Chris Hi all, I was in the supermarket and looking around in the bulk foods section. I found something simply labelled ’soft wheat’. It appears to be unmalted wheat grains (kernels?). I filled a bag with about 2 lb. for around a dollar (CAN$).  Of course my thoughts were on brewing. I’ve used malted and flaked but never unmalted wheat before. Does it require cooking prior to mashing? Also, i presume it has no diastatic power since it hasn’t been malted . Correct? Can anybody give me a quick synopsis on the use of this grain? John

Response:

thanks chris, i am planning to brew a wit in the next week or two for my brew club’s annual homebrew barbeque event. the spices you used look good. i am lucky to have a source for really good cardomon as my neighbors are from india and bring home very fresh spices on their twice a year trips to visit family, can you imagine that they bring back cardomon by the gallon?? i always get a pint or so before the next trip. cheers jerry

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – chris, i love wits any chance you would share your recipe?? No problem – it’s a fairly generic Wit that I haven’t tweaked yet, so feel free to play with the ingredients.  I wouldn’t sweat replicating my recipe exactly. Next time I’ll make it more bitter, and add more corriander and orange peel. (5 US gallons) 5# Pale malt with good diastatic power 5# Raw wheat 4 oz CaraPils (optional) Mash as usual, checking for starch conversion (iodine test).  Sparge carefully as the mash can stick.  I crushed the wheat fairly coarsely and it worked OK. Aim to collect 5.5 gallons. Boil 60 minutes Hallertau  (3 AAU)  60 min Saaz  (2 AAU)  60 min My theoretical IBU was about 15 but I’d prefer it to be higher.  Next time I’ll probably only use hallertau, and more of it (aiming for a total 5 AAU bittering).  The style ranges from 15 to 25.  Please double-check the AAUs – my mental maths may be out. Note that pretty much any noble hop would be suitable. Now for the spices… 1oz Chinese dried orange peel            15 min 1 oz fresh orange or mandarin peel     15 min 0.5 oz freshly crushed corriander seed   5 min 0.25 oz  crushed cardamom pods           5 min half tsp nutmeg                                     2 min Pitch any yeast giving a spicy character.  I used DCL’s T58, but Wyeast and White labs have Wit yeasts.  At the worst, any neutral ale yeast will give a reasonable result.  Expect OG 1045-1050, FG about 1010 (4.5 to 5% abv). The spices are difficult to remove, but froth up during fermentation and are easy to skim off.  Dried orange peel is very cheap at Asian food stores (here, at least).  It doesn’t seem to matter if it has been candied either.  I know of people who dry their own or only use fresh, with good results. have fun. Chris

Response:

chris, i love wits any chance you would share your recipe??

No problem – it’s a fairly generic Wit that I haven’t tweaked yet, so feel free to play with the ingredients.  I wouldn’t sweat replicating my recipe exactly. Next time I’ll make it more bitter, and add more corriander and orange peel. (5 US gallons) 5# Pale malt with good diastatic power 5# Raw wheat 4 oz CaraPils (optional) Mash as usual, checking for starch conversion (iodine test).  Sparge carefully as the mash can stick.  I crushed the wheat fairly coarsely and it worked OK. Aim to collect 5.5 gallons. Boil 60 minutes Hallertau  (3 AAU)  60 min Saaz  (2 AAU)  60 min My theoretical IBU was about 15 but I’d prefer it to be higher.  Next time I’ll probably only use hallertau, and more of it (aiming for a total 5 AAU bittering).  The style ranges from 15 to 25.  Please double-check the AAUs – my mental maths may be out. Note that pretty much any noble hop would be suitable. Now for the spices… 1oz Chinese dried orange peel            15 min 1 oz fresh orange or mandarin peel     15 min 0.5 oz freshly crushed corriander seed   5 min 0.25 oz  crushed cardamom pods           5 min half tsp nutmeg                                     2 min Pitch any yeast giving a spicy character.  I used DCL’s T58, but Wyeast and White labs have Wit yeasts.  At the worst, any neutral ale yeast will give a reasonable result.  Expect OG 1045-1050, FG about 1010 (4.5 to 5% abv). The spices are difficult to remove, but froth up during fermentation and are easy to skim off.  Dried orange peel is very cheap at Asian food stores (here, at least).  It doesn’t seem to matter if it has been candied either.  I know of people who dry their own or only use fresh, with good results. have fun. Chris

Response:

Raw wheat has its place in brewing and I’m starting to use quite a lot of it. I’m not sure of this, but I have the impression that wheat doesn’t need cooking to release the starch (unlike corn for example).  I could be wrong.  In any case, the Belgians seem to use it to good effect when raw and I always get good conversion in the mash. I made a Wit a few months ago using 50% malted barley and 50% raw unmalted wheat.  Use a barley with high diastatic power because the unmalted wheat has none.   The result was beautiful, like a spicy wheat beer on steroids, slightly cloudy (to style) and quite yellow.  Alas, the keg gave out last night – I must brew more! (And why is the last pint always the tastiest ?)  Sidebar:  Wit also contains spices and orange peel.  Not everyone’s idea of beer, but something to expand your horizons with. Since my Wit dalliance, I have been regularly adding up to half a pound of (crushed) raw wheat to most beers, as there is a favorable effect on body (much fuller), flavor (some wheat beer polyphenols) and head retention (wheat proteins).  I find the effect of raw wheat to be much more "wheaty" than malted wheat. If you roast raw wheat until it’s just starting to blacken, it’s also a great addition to stouts.  The bonus here is that since it comes without a  husk, the burnt flavor is more mellow than with roast barley. One caution – since it doesn’t come with a husk (it’s usually "pearled" before bagging),  it’s likely to contribute to slower lautering and you will more easily get a stuck sparge.  Add oat husks to the mash if you have them. Experiment with it.  Have fun. Chris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I was in the supermarket and looking around in the bulk foods section. I found something simply labelled ’soft wheat’. It appears to be unmalted wheat grains (kernels?). I filled a bag with about 2 lb. for around a dollar (CAN$).  Of course my thoughts were on brewing. I’ve used malted and flaked but never unmalted wheat before. Does it require cooking prior to mashing? Also, i presume it has no diastatic power since it hasn’t been malted . Correct? Can anybody give me a quick synopsis on the use of this grain? John

Response:

Hi all, I was in the supermarket and looking around in the bulk foods section. I found something simply labelled ’soft wheat’. It appears to be unmalted wheat grains (kernels?). I filled a bag with about 2 lb. for around a dollar (CAN$).  Of course my thoughts were on brewing. I’ve used malted and flaked but never unmalted wheat before. Does it require cooking prior to mashing? Also, i presume it has no diastatic power since it hasn’t been malted . Correct? Can anybody give me a quick synopsis on the use of this grain? John

Response:

i think that some belgian wit recipes use raw wheat, not exactly a synopsis is it? cheers jerry BTW just came back from a vacation in canada, had a great time!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I was in the supermarket and looking around in the bulk foods section. I found something simply labelled ’soft wheat’. It appears to be unmalted wheat grains (kernels?). I filled a bag with about 2 lb. for around a dollar (CAN$).  Of course my thoughts were on brewing. I’ve used malted and flaked but never unmalted wheat before. Does it require cooking prior to mashing? Also, i presume it has no diastatic power since it hasn’t been malted . Correct? Can anybody give me a quick synopsis on the use of this grain? John

Response: